Crossroads

In 1997, at the tender age of 14, Seun Kuti was thrust into prominence. While most teenage boys were busy dealing with puberty, girls and studies, his focus was on maintaining a legacy – that of his father Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat pioneer who had just passed away following an unpublicised battle with AIDS. Taking the reins of Fela's celebrated musical and political collective, Egypt 80, Kuti took to his role with pride and seriousness, committed to upholding the sound of Africa.

“You have to understand that Afrobeat starts with truth, and people respect truth – it is at the base of everything,” Kuti says down the phone line from Nigeria. “So the power of the music isn't strictly limited to a country; Afrobeat has influenced the whole world.”

It's been over a year since the release of From Africa With Fury: Rise, Kuti's second record at the helm and a group of songs that went to great lengths to strengthen his own identity as a talented musician, inspired performer and political activist in his own right. But the tone in his voice makes it clear – the surface has barely been scratched. He wants to spawn more music with his Egypt 80 collective, keep moving forward and take this journey with audiences in Australia.

“My songs are like my children. I'm definitely married to music and we produce the songs. I'm coming to play these [...Rise] songs in Australia but I'm working on a new album, and I'm really excited about these songs. That kind of reduces the excitement I have about those old songs because I think I'm a forward [thinking] person. Things in the past I lose interest over. I want to start playing all these new songs live. We're playing one already and we have about five or six more that are up to my standards, so that's where my focus is. I put my everything into all the songs I write, and when I play that music I perform it from the heart.

“I want to try and record this next summer hopefully, but it all depends on a lot of things. I'm really looking forward to recording this album; I think it is going to be a defining record for me. I'm going to be thirty in January and I feel that this is going to be my album; this is my third album, it's going to be my time, hopefully – you never know. But I think the world is ready for some serious truths man.”

Kuti is not here to mull over past triumphs. However, he's not too keen to look far into the future when prodded further. Ask him what his aspirations and goals are and he'll tell you he has none. He is committed to today – this moment – music, life or otherwise.

“To tell you [honestly], I'm not planning anything that long – I'm not planning the next 12 months. The world is big and it doesn't have a plan. With the global finance, global economy, everything global, space, the shit in Africa – your plans will go around the world and bite you in the arse. And your so-called twelve-month plan will be ruined by someone, [somewhere] y'know. Your plans can be ruined in days. They always say to save for a rainy day, but what if something bad happens and it's not raining? Your rainy day money could be in the bank, and then there is rain in the bank? That's why I think you have to get as much out of now as you can and make your now as amazing as possible.”